Russia banned from next month’s Paralympics because of ‘state-run’ doping

RUSSIAN athletes have been banned from next month’s Paralympics.

And IPC president Sir Philip Craven has blamed the country’s government for the decision because of their state-run doping programme.

Craven said: “The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and completely compromised.

“The doping culture in Russian sport comes from the Russian government.

“Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes.

He added: “The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government and has now been uncovered in not one, but two independent reports commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.”

The decision is a major embarrassment for Olympic chiefs who decided against a blanket ban on Russian athletes in Rio.

Russia now has 21 days to appeal the IPC decision. The British Paralympic Association backed the IPC’s decision.

They said: “The BPC congratulates the IPC on taking a clear stand based on the evidence of the McLaren report and their subsequent investigation.

“We believe they have followed a comprehensive and proper process throughout and taken a bold decision on the back of it.”